Eight months after announcing the $18.5 million first tranche of its series A, Augustine Therapeutics has closed the oversubscribed round at $85 million and is now ready to begin clinical development of its novel histone deacetylase-6 (HDAC6) inhibitors.
Astrazeneca plc is investing heavily in China, signing two R&D deals, worth up to about $8 billion in up-front payments and milestones combined, with Chinese companies Harbour Biomed Ltd. and Syneron Bio, establishing a joint venture with Shenzhen Kangtai Biological Products Co. (Biokangtai) for vaccines, and creating a new R&D center in Beijing through another $2.5 billion investment.
Building upon its already impressive obesity drug portfolio, Novo Nordisk A/S has licensed a triple agonist of the receptors for GLP-1, GIP and glucagon from United Biotechnology Co. Ltd. China-based United is getting $200 million up front and the chance to earn up to $1.8 billion in milestone payments. United Biotechnology retains the rights to subcutaneously administered UBT-251, which is in the early stages of development for treating obesity, type 2 diabetes and other diseases, in China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan while Bagsværd, Denmark-headquartered Novo get exclusive rights to develop, manufacture and commercialize the triple agonist receptor across the rest of the world.
Alcon AG plans to acquire Lensar Inc. for up to $430 million in a transaction expected to close in the latter half of the year. The acquisition will add Lensar’s Ally robotic cataract laser treatment system, Streamline software technology and Lensar legacy laser system to Alcon’s cataract surgery portfolio and expand global access to Lensar’s femtosecond laser technology.
Third-party litigation funding (TPLF) has a checkered reputation in the U.S. med-tech industry and the practice has now raised hackles in the European Union as well. The European Commission recently posted a document explaining how EU-wide legislation would map onto member state law, the results of which suggest that any pan-EU legislation would be at best a tricky exercise in policymaking.
Roche Holding AG and the University of Liverpool in the U.K. launched an initiative to improve the early detection of rare eye cancers with the help of the Ventana DP 600 digital pathology slide scanner.
Science ministers from 13 countries in Europe are calling on the European Union to offer a home to researchers affected by the Trump Administration’s cuts. They have written to EU research and innovation commissioner Ekaterina Zaharieva asking her to organize a welcome “for brilliant talents from abroad who might suffer from research interference and ill-motivated and brutal funding cuts.”
Vicentra BV aims to make its Kaleido 2 insulin patch pump and automated insulin delivery system even smaller than its current device, already amongst the smallest, lightest and most precise insulin device on the market, new CEO Tom Arnold told BioWorld. As the company works to meet growing demand for its product, Kaleido has the potential to transform diabetes care, he said.
Pharma companies in the U.K. said the rebate they are required to make on drug sales is making the country “un-investible,” prompting staff cuts and leading clinical research partnerships to be unwound. Rather than the 15.3% rebate on branded drugs companies expected to pay this year, the rate has leapt to 22.9%. That has left the Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicine Pricing and Access “in crisis,” according to the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industries.
Oxford Biotherapeutics Ltd. is partnering with Roche AG to expand the current field of tumor antigens that can be drugged with antibodies, as part of a potential $1 billion-plus agreement. The agreement will see Oxford Biotherapeutics apply its membrane protein discovery platform to search for novel cancer cell antigens, which will be validated through the research collaboration, with Roche then taking the lead in advancing any resulting antibody programs.
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